The San Diego Chargers agreed to contract terms with restricted free agent center Trevor Robinson on a two-year contract and defensive end Ricardo Mathews on a one-year contract, the team announced Tuesday.
The 6-5, 300-pound Robinson is a fourth-year center who originally signed with the Chargers last October. He proved to be a dependable reserve, taking over at center as an injury replacement during late-season, come-from-behind wins in Baltimore and San Francisco. He started the Chargers’ regular-season finale in Kansas City, becoming the team’s fifth different starting center during the season. No other NFL team since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 had ever started five different centers in a season.
A native of Elkhorn, Nebraska, Robinson attended Notre Dame. He signed with Cincinnati as an undrafted rookie in 2012 and over the course of the 2012-13 seasons, he started seven of 19 games played for the Bengals.
Mathews, 6-3, 300 pounds, signed with the Chargers last September and played in 12 games with two starts. He recorded 25 tackles, 1.5 sacks, six tackles for loss and two forced fumbles, tied for most on the team. One of Mathews’ forced fumbles was recovered for a touchdown by teammate Corey Liuget in the Chargers’ 38-35 overtime win in San Francisco in December. Mathews totaled six quarterback hits during the season as well, including a team-leading three during the Chargers win over St. Louis in late November.
Mathews spent his first four seasons (2010-13) with Indianapolis. A seventh-round pick by the Colts, Mathews played in 52 games in Indianapolis with six starts, compiling 60 tackles and 1.5 sacks. A native of Jacksonville, Florida, he played collegiality at the University of Cincinnati.
Since just prior to the recent start of free agency, the Chargers have added guard Orlando Franklin (formerly with Denver), return specialist Jacoby Jones (Baltimore), and retained left tackle King Dunlap, cornerback Brandon Flowers, Robinson and Mathews.
The Chargers also released guard Chad Rinehart on Tuesday.
